UNITED
NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States said on Wednesday it is weighing whether
the Iranian nuclear deal serves its security interests even as Iran said it did
not
expect Washington to abandon the agreement.
A collapse
of the 2015 deal, which U.S. President Donald Trump has called “an
embarrassment” but which is supported by the other major powers that negotiated
it with Iran, could trigger a regional arms race and worsen Middle East
tensions.
Iranian President
Hassan Rouhani vowed that his country would not be the first to violate the
agreement under which Tehran agreed to restrict its nuclear program in return
for the loosening of economic sanctions that had crippled its economy.
“We don’t
think Trump will walk out of the deal despite (his) rhetoric and propaganda,”
Rouhani told reporters on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly gathering
of world leaders. He also ruled out the idea of renegotiating the pact.
Trump told
reporters he had made a decision on what to do about the agreement but would
not say what he had decided.
Matters were
no clearer after Iran and the world powers that negotiated the deal - Britain,
China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States - met for talks that a
European source said included a long discussion between the U.S. and Iranian
foreign ministers.
It was the
first time that the two men, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Iranian
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, had met since Trump took office on Jan. 20.
The EU’s
foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said all sides believed there had
been no violations to the deal but she was unable to say after the roughly hour
and 20-minute meeting whether the United States would stick to it.
“We already
have one potential nuclear crisis. We definitely (do) not need to go into a
second one,” she told reporters, alluding to North Korea’s pursuit atomic
weapons.
Asked if the
United States had committed to staying in the pact, she appeared to be at a
loss and said: “Another question.”
Tillerson
told reporters Trump did not wish to leave the Iran nuclear issue to the next
president.
A video
projection is seen on the face of Iran's President Hassan Rouhani as he arrives
for a news conference during the United Nations General Assembly in New York
City, U.S. September 20, 2017. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith
“That is the
reason he is very, very carefully considering the decision of whether we find
the JCPOA to continue to serve the security interests of the American people or
not,” he said, referring to the pact formally called the Joint Comprehensive
Plan of Action.
The U.S.
president, who on Tuesday called the deal “one of the worst and most one-sided
transactions the United States has ever entered into,” told reporters he had
made up his mind whether to keep the pact but declined to disclose his
decision.
Trump must
decide by Oct. 15 whether to certify that Iran is complying with the pact, a
decision that could sink the deal. If he does not, the U.S. Congress has 60
days to decide whether to reimpose sanctions waived under the accord.
The EU’s
foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said all sides believed there had
been no violations to the deal but she was unable to say after the roughly hour
and 20-minute meeting whether the United States would stick to it.
“We already
have one potential nuclear crisis. We definitely (do) not need to go into a
second one,” she told reporters, alluding to North Korea’s pursuit atomic
weapons.
Asked if the
United States had committed to staying in the pact, she appeared to be at a
loss and said: “Another question.”
Tillerson
told reporters Trump did not wish to leave the Iran nuclear issue to the next
president.
A video
projection is seen on the face of Iran's President Hassan Rouhani as he arrives
for a news conference during the United Nations General Assembly in New York
City, U.S. September 20, 2017. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith
“That is the
reason he is very, very carefully considering the decision of whether we find
the JCPOA to continue to serve the security interests of the American people or
not,” he said, referring to the pact formally called the Joint Comprehensive
Plan of Action.
The U.S.
president, who on Tuesday called the deal “one of the worst and most one-sided
transactions the United States has ever entered into,” told reporters he had
made up his mind whether to keep the pact but declined to disclose his
decision.
Trump must
decide by Oct. 15 whether to certify that Iran is complying with the pact, a
decision that could sink the deal. If he does not, the U.S. Congress has 60
days to decide whether to reimpose sanctions waived under the accord.
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